Meet the Parents
by TitansRule
Summary: It's Christmas Day and Don and Jess are spending it with her family. No angst, no case, just good ol' fashioned, festive, family fluff. Story #73 'Kindred Spirits'. Three-shot.
1. Chapter 1

**Disclaimer: I do not own CSI: NY. I do own James, William, Robert, Ellie, Bethany, Jason, Liam, Amelia and Elizabeth Angell. And possibly Marie Angell, but I can't remember where I got her name from.  
****Series: 'Kindred Spirits'.  
****Spoilers: **_**Pay Up.**_

* * *

Chapter One

"Jess?" Don knocked on the bedroom door. "We're gonna be late."

He got no response.

"Jess, aren't I the one that's supposed to be holed up in there?" Don asked. "I mean, they're _your_ parents."

When he still didn't get an answer, he sighed. "I'm coming in, Jess."

Jess sniffed slightly, knowing that she couldn't stop him and, indeed, not wanting to stop him. She was standing in front of the full length mirror, wearing a simple black dress, her hair lightly curled, cursing the fact that her mother and sisters-in-law – as much as she loved them – always managed to make her feel underdressed at these family dinners. The dress was one of her favourites and always seemed to fit like a second skin in a way that always boosted her confidence, probably more than it should.

But today something was different. It was too big all of a sudden and swamped her frame almost as much as one of Don's shirts.

She watched Don appear behind her in the mirror and leaned back as he wrapped his arms around her waist. "You look beautiful." He whispered, kissing her neck.

"No, I don't." Jess disagreed with no real fire in her. "You can feel every single one of my ribs."

Don ran a hand down her side. "No, you … Okay, you can. But you were in a coma for a month, Jess; that's expected." He squeezed her hand. "And you still look beautiful."

Jess scoffed lightly. "You have to say that; it's in the job description."

"Doesn't mean it's not true." Don pointed out. "Now come on; we don't wanna leave your dad outside cleaning his shotgun for hours."

"Dad hasn't sat outside cleaning his shotgun since my senior prom." Jess sniggered. "But, if you're that worried, maybe we should leave now."

"I've been saying that for the last five minutes." Don muttered.

"What was that?" Jess asked, picking up her bag.

"Nothing, darling." Don smiled innocently at her. "Nothing at all."

* * *

"So this is where you grew up." Don commented as they left the car.

"Yes." Jess shivered slightly in the December wind and pulled her coat tighter to her. "Why?"

"No reason." Don shrugged. "I just always pictured you growing up in a place like this. Nice house, big yard …"

"Five kids." Jess reminded him, ringing the doorbell.

Running footsteps were heard on the other side, followed by a female voice calling, "Mya! Check first!"

The footsteps slowed and a child's voice spoke up. "Who is it?"

"It's Auntie Jess, honey." Jess smiled.

"Yay!" The door flew open and the little girl rushed into her arms.

Jess winced slightly at the contact and gently loosened her niece's hold. "Careful, Mya."

"Mya, remember what I told you!" A blonde woman appeared in view, holding smaller baby in her arms. "Auntie Jess is hurt, so you have to be very gentle."

"Not very gentle." Jess disagreed. "Just a regular degree of gentle will do." She stepped away from Mya, who was chattering at top speed about kindergarten, and embraced her sister-in-law. "How are you, Ellie?"

"Better than you apparently." Ellie kissed her cheek. "Who's your friend?"

"Oh, right." Jess pulled away. "This is my partner and boyfriend, Don Flack. Don, this is Ellie, Jamie's wife. And this is Mya and Elizabeth. They're five and two."

"Hi." Ellie shook his hand. "Mya, what do we say?"

Very formally, Mya held out her hand. "My name is Amelia Angell and it's very nice to meet you."

With a smile that told Jess he was stifling a laugh, Don knelt down to the girl's level and shook her hand. "Hello."

Ellie gave Jess a meaningful glance as he straightened up. "Come in, you two; it's too cold to stand around in doorways."

The two stepped inside, shedding their jackets. "Where are Jason and Liam?" Jess asked, referring to her two nephews.

"Back yard." Ellie's eyes lingered on the gun at Don's waist. "You two have to wear them?"

"Part of the job, Elle." Jess smiled thinly, silently cursing her for drawing attention to it. "But I don't have one; department shrink won't sign me off to have my piece back."

"She's only doing her job." Don pointed out calmly, giving her something else to focus on.

"By telling me that my nightmares are because I'm feeling 'trapped and alone'?" Jess rolled her eyes. "I know why I'm dreaming about being buried alive; it's because I almost was. It's not rocket science."

Don gave a small sigh, having had this conversation with her many times since her first appointment, and offered Ellie a smile. "There's no way any of the children can get their hands on it; there's a safety catch on the holster."

Looking more reassured, Ellie led the two into the living room and Jess found herself on the receiving end of another hug, this time from her mother.

"Oh, Jessica, thank heavens you're alright."

"Merry Christmas, Mom." Jess greeted in a muffled voice. "Okay …" She extracted herself from her mother's arms. "Introductions. Don, this is my mom, Marie. You've already met Daddy."

Marie beamed. "It's wonderful to finally meet you."

"Likewise." Don returned as she embraced him in welcome.

"Good to see you again, Detective." Cliff shook his hand firmly. "I trust you're taking care of my baby girl."

"I do my best, sir." Don replied, cutting off Jess's protest. "But she doesn't make it easy."

Marie laughed. "She never has."

"She takes after you." Cliff agreed.

"_She_ is right here." Jess pointed out, rolling her eyes. "Where are the boys?"

"Setting the table, supposedly." Another female voice answered from behind them. "But you know them, Jess; they gossip worse than we do."

Jess turned to smile at her other sister-in-law. "Hey Bethany. How's the baby?"

Bethany patted the slight swell of her stomach. "Woke me up at four this morning. How are you?"

"Why does everyone keep asking me that?" Jess asked.

"Maybe because you were shot?" Bethany shot back, wrapping an arm around her. "I can't begin to tell you what we went through …"

"Don's already done that." Jess assured her, slipping her spare arm through his and nudging him forwards. "This is Will's wife, Bethany."

Bethany smiled at him. "Pleasure. How long have you two been …?"

"Eleven months." Jess answered. "But we've been partners for about three years."

"I thought you said you'd never date your partner." Bethany commented too quietly for Don to hear her.

"I did." Jess confirmed in the same tone. "But Don can be very persuasive."

Bethany laughed. "Matt's not here yet; he and Sarah are stopping in to see her parents on the way."

Jess nodded, inwardly sighing with relief. If she was honest, she was more worried about Matt's reaction than her anyone else's; she could live with the other's disapproval, but Matt turning away would break her.

Tugging lightly on Don's arm, she led the way to the dining room, smiling as her brother's voices floated out to her. Her smile soon disappeared, however, when she realised that they were arguing, not gossiping as Bethany had assumed.

"… were you?!"

"We both have to work, Rob; it's not …"

"Excuses; excuses! You're just never there!"

"I'm not the other side of the country, Robert; what do you want me to do?"

"Pick up a phone?! Write, email … something! Dammit, James; Matt and I had to leave a message with your _secretary_ telling you that our _sister _was _dead _and you couldn't even be bothered to call back and find out what happened!"

Jess faltered. "Uh oh."

"Oh dear." Her mother sighed from behind her. "I'll …"

"No." Jess cut her off. "I'll deal with it. It's me they're arguing over after all."

"Okay." Her mother didn't sound convinced, but didn't argue. "I'm going to carry on with dinner; do either of you want anything?"

"No, thanks." Don responded, as Jess shook her head. "Anything I can do to help?"

Marie smiled at Jess. "He's a keeper. Thank you, dear, but no; Bethany and I have it sorted."

"Actually," Ellie called from the living room, "I need to change Liz; do you mind keeping an eye on Mya for me?"

"Sure." Don squeezed Jess's hand as he moved away. "Good luck."

"Thanks." Jess narrowed her eyes at the door, took a deep breath and pushed it open.

The three men – boys, her mind corrected, they certainly weren't acting like men – were still arguing; Rob on one side of the table and Jamie and Will on the other.

Jess cleared her throat. "I'm sorry. I was under the impression that Mya and Elizabeth were the children in the family. Because you're all doing a wonderful impression of squabbling three-year-olds. I mean, good God, Liam behaves more maturely than this." She ignored the stunned expressions on the faces of her two eldest brothers – maybe they were expecting her to have turned into glass - focusing instead on Rob, who approached her warily.

"How much does it hurt, Chickpea?"

"What; this?" Jess pulled the strap of her dress to the side, revealing the scar on her shoulder, noting the shudder that ran through all three of her brothers. "Sometimes I forget that it's there. This one acts up sometimes though." She ran a hand across her abdomen. "But I suppose that's what happens when three .50 calibre bullets tear through your stomach."

Rob blanched and wrapped her in a hug. "Don't joke about that, Jess."

"Sorry." Jess murmured into his shoulder. "But it's not so bad." She added as she pulled away. "Ask Don if you can see the scar from the bombing; it's much worse."

Rob pulled a face. "No thanks."

"Who's Don?" Jamie asked.

"My boyfriend." Jess answered slowly. "And your wife seems to like him, so don't start."

Rob grinned at her suddenly. "This the _friend_ we were talking about on the phone? With the sister?"

Jess nodded, blushing slightly. "Yes."

"Thought you said you weren't together." Rob teased.

"We weren't!" Jess protested. "It kinda … sorta … happened shortly after that."

Rob nodded. "How is his sister?"

"She's fine." Jess told him. "She's been dropping by, pretty much every day. Obviously Don's still at work and everyone seems to have this idea that I can't survive more than twenty minutes on my own."

"Wait, Mom said you were staying with your partner." Will spoke up.

Jess raised an eyebrow. "Don _is_ my partner. And I prefer the term 'living'; we came to the conclusion yesterday morning that we might as well make it permanent. And I don't know where you two think you get off being so overprotective, considering neither of you have even said 'hello' to me yet, let alone asked how I am despite the fact that I almost _died_."

"Just be glad Matt's not here yet." Rob added.

Jamie gave Will a warning look. "You're right, Jess; sorry."

Jess folded her arms. "I should think so! I haven't heard from either of you since I joined NYPD. Would it kill you to just phone and say hello?"

"You're right." Jamie repeated, hugging her; she didn't respond to it. "I'm sorry. You're my baby sister; I should make more time for you. Tell you what, from now on, every Sunday night, I promise to sit down and call you, alright?"

Jess smiled and loosened her arms to hug him back. "I suppose so. I love you, Jamie."

"Love you too, Chickpea." Jamie kissed her head.

"You just had to come up with that, didn't you?" Jess muttered, pulling away.

Jamie grinned at her. "You love it!"

Almost as soon as he had released her, Will pulled her into a tight hug. "You scared us, Jess."

This probably meant more to Jess than anything previously said; for any of her brother to admit they were scared to anyone, let alone her, was a rarity and almost unheard of.

"I know." Jess whispered. "I'm sorry."

"Do you love him?" Will asked her quietly.

"More than anything." Jess smiled.

"And he loves you?"

Jess pulled back to meet his eyes. "Of course."

Will smiled at her. "Just making sure."

The back door flew open at that point and two boys sprinted in, their coats covered in snow, laughing hysterically about something. Will released her as they both stopped dead in the middle of the room.

Jess smiled at her two nephews, aged thirteen and eight, waiting for their reactions. Mya hadn't been old enough to understand death as a concept, but these two, especially Jason, knew what a miracle it was that she was still here. "Close your mouths, boys; you're catching flies."

"Aunt Jess!" Liam threw himself into her arms and she flinched slightly, but the discomfort was fleeting; unlike his sister, his arms were around her neck, not her waist, leaving her free to hold him tightly.

Jess kissed his forehead. "Merry Christmas, Liam. What did Santa bring you this morning?"

"A new bike!" Liam answered happily. "And, Aunt Jess, I found out something else too!"

"Oh?" Jess asked. "And what was that?"

"Santa's a mind-reader!" Liam told her. "Because I didn't ask for a new bike in my letter!"

"What did you ask for?" Jess glanced up at Jamie who was smiling proudly.

"I asked him to get you back." Liam answered with typical 8-year-old blunt honesty.

Feeling tears gather in her eyes, Jess forced them back and ruffled his hair. "Well, it's a good thing he got your letter then, isn't it?"

"Where's Mya?" Liam asked. "She's starting kindergarten in January."

Jess smiled. "Living room." Briefly she thought about going with him to warn Don, but then decided against it, opting instead to straighten up and hold an arm out to Jason, who hesitated. She rolled her eyes. "Yes, Jason, I know; you're 13 and you don't need hugs anymore, but I'd quite like one and I haven't see you in a year, so get over here. My therapist has banned me from chasing errant children."

"I'm not a child!" Jason protested, but hugged her anyway, his tight hold and trembling arms betraying his earlier hesitation as ego-protection, nothing more.

"I know." Jess kissed his forehead as well, grinning when he wiped it off. "Alright. Come on, boys; there's someone you need to meet."

"Can we …?" Will began, grinning ominously.

"No." Jess cut him off. "Keep in mind this is also the man who ignored protocol to wait for EMTs and rushed me to the hospital himself, which is the only reason I survived." Not waiting to see their reaction, she guided Jason ahead of her and into the living room, stopping to smile at the scene that met them.

Her father had disappeared off somewhere, probably to the garage to 'tinker around' as her mom put it; he had recently bought an old wreck that he was fixing up. Or possibly making worse, no one could quite figure it out.

Her little niece – Miss 'I can't sit still' herself – was perched quite happily on Don's lap with a picture book, pointing out the different words she could read. Don was somehow managing to carry on a conversation with Liam about what he got for Christmas at the same time as nodding and asking Mya questions in the appropriate places.

For a second, Jess let her mind take her to a place where it was their children he was talking to, but then Jamie's voice low near her ear interrupted her thoughts. "I've never seen Mya sit still for that long."

"Me neither." Jess walked over and sat next to them. "What you got there, Mya?"

"Santa brought it." Mya showed her the alphabet book she was holding. "I know what all the letters are for."

"So I heard." Jess pulled her over onto her own lap. "Don, these are my three oldest brothers, Jamie, Will and Rob." She watched with no shortage of relief as they greeted Don cheerfully, before all four plunged into a friendly sports debate, occasionally helped by Jason and Liam, who joined in with gusto.

_Three down. _She thought to herself. _One to go._

**

* * *

AN: I know the school year starts in September, but in England, children born in the second half of the year sometimes start kindergarten/reception a few months later. Not sure how it works in America, but chalk it up to AU and be done with it :) This will be a two-shot, so bear with me lol. Thanks to everyone who voted on the poll; I will churn out some of those soon, I promise. Just let me get the NCIS plot-bunnies out of my head first; they're starting to breed and there's not much room up there. Review please!**


	2. Chapter 2

**Disclaimer: I do not own CSI: NY. I do own the Angell clan minus Cliff.  
****Series: 'Kindred Spirits' - previously 'Walking With Angels'.  
****Spoilers: **_**Pay Up**_**; **_**Commuted Sentences**_**; **_**You Only Die Once**_**.**

* * *

Chapter Two

Jess seemed to sit on edge for the next twenty minutes, only half-listening to Bethany's chatter about the baby. If her sister-in-law noticed, she didn't say anything.

Finally, after what seemed like an age, the front door opened.

"Merry Christmas!"

"Uncle Matt!" Mya cried, and she raced from the room.

"He'll know you're here sooner or later." Elle smiled, giving Beth a hand up. "I wouldn't move."

Jess grimaced, standing up anyway. She felt Don's arms slip around her waist and he kissed her head. "Relax."

"I am." Jess murmured.

"… and Santa brought me a doll's house and a new uncle!"

Jess smirked, tilting her head back. "Looks like you're stuck with me now. You'll break her heart otherwise."

"I'm not going anywhere." Don reminded her softly.

"A new uncle?" Matt's voice repeated. "Nana doesn't have a baby in her tummy, does she?"

"No!" Mya erupted into giggles. "That's Auntie Bethany and that's my cousin."

"Oh. So where did this new uncle come from then?" Matt asked as they came into view.

"He came with Auntie Jess." Mya lowered her voice to a loud whisper. "I think she likes him."

"Busted." Jess stated wryly as Matt spun to face them. "Close your mouth, Matthew; you look like you've seen a ghost." Her hands tightened on Don's momentarily, before she slipped out of his arms and stepped forwards enough for Matt to scoop her into a hug.

Almost immediately, he let her go. "I didn't hurt you, did I?"

Jess shook her head. "Just don't put too much pressure on my stomach. Hi, Sarah."

Unlike Elle and Bethany, Sarah clearly wasn't quite sure how to treat her, having not been in the family long enough to be used to the injuries associated with a job on the force, so Jess spared her the embarrassment, embracing her lightly.

"Don, this is my youngest older brother, Matt, and his fiancée, Sarah. This is Don Flack, my boyfriend."

Jess held her breath as Matt shook his hand silently. The last time she had seen that look on his face was before her senior prom; her date ended up so shaken that he was too scared to even hold her hand that night. Thankfully, Don was made of stronger stuff than that.

She hoped.

"Sarah, didn't you want to talk to Jess about the wedding?" Matt asked quietly.

Jess met Sarah's gaze, silently pleading with her not to take the bait. For her part, Sarah seemed torn between both unspoken requests and faltered. "Yeah … why don't we talk about it? Over here?"

Jess agreed, moving to the other side of the room, offering Don a supportive smile as she did.

"He doesn't want us to talk about the wedding." Sarah stated quietly.

"Nope." Jess shook her head. "I'm worried."

"How did you two meet?" Sarah asked curiously.

"We work together." Jess explained, before telling her about the bomb that had sculpted that first meeting, keeping half an eye on the two men just out of earshot.

"How long have you and Jess known each other?" Matt asked quietly.

"Just over three years." Don answered. "We met in August of 2006. I was in hospital after I got caught in a bomb the month before."

"Wait …" Matt narrowed his eyes. "Are you the partner she keeps telling me about?"

"Well, I assume so. I mean, I'm the only partner she has, but I don't listen in on her phone conversations … Well, most of them, anyway."

Matt sniggered. "Yeah, I know how that goes. I was under the impression you two were just good friends."

"We were." Don confirmed. "But … Jess's easy to fall for."

"How serious are we talking?" Matt asked, shooting a covert glance at his sister, who didn't miss it and looked even more worried.

"Very. I wouldn't have risked losing her if it wasn't." Don assured him. "She's my best friend."

Matt eyed him speculatively for a few more minutes, before grinning. "Alright, Jessie; I approve."

Jess sighed in relief, rejoining them with Sarah. "Good. I'd hate to have to shoot you."

"You don't have your gun." Don reminded her.

"But you have yours." Jess smirked. "And don't think I wouldn't, because I would."

"Like I'd let you get hold of my gun." Don rolled his eyes.

"Need I remind you, Detective, that I've beaten you the last ten times Captain had us spar in the gym?" Jess retorted.

"Well that …" Don faltered. "Never mind."

"Someone's well-trained." Ellie commented, coming back in with Elizabeth, who was now properly awake and held her chubby arms out to Jess, who took her with a smile.

"Hey there, Lizzie!" She cooed, tickling the child's tummy.

"Are you sure you're alright holding her?" Ellie asked worriedly. "She's gotten very heavy."

"I'm alright holding Lucy." Jess responded.

"Lucy's only three months old." Don pointed out.

"And wriggly." Jess added.

"Dinner's ready!" Marie called from the dining room.

"Who's Lucy?" Sarah asked curiously as they all filed out.

"She's the daughter of two of the CSIs." Jess answered. "She's lucky she ended up a Lucy."

"Lydia wasn't that bad." Don protested.

"Yeah, but you heard the names Danny was coming up with for a boy." Jess shook her head, trying desperately not to smirk. "I call telling her that Daddy wanted to name her 'Cosmo'."

"Excuse me?" Cliff looked up as they walked in. "I did not!"

"No, not you." Jess patted her father's shoulder as she passed him. "One of our co-workers over at the lab. Detective Messer had some strange names picked out if the baby was a boy."

"So the CSIs are detectives as well?" Sarah asked. "What's the difference between what they do and what you do?"

"They do the science and we do the legwork." Don answered.

"Don, that's not the only difference." Jess rolled her eyes. "They collect all the physical evidence; the fingerprints, blood spatter, things like that. And they don't speak English."

"Yeah, why say something's covered in hairspray when you can use the long-winded scientific name?" Don asked.

Jess sniggered. "They do that to you too?"

Don shook his head with a sigh. "I think they do it on purpose."

"So I read something in the papers about a gang of thieves driving around New York in a flashy car a few years ago." Jamie commented. "Were you two on that case?"

"I wasn't." Jess smirked. "Don was."

"Not by choice." Don muttered.

"His ex's place was robbed." Jess explained with a grin. "He ended up chasing the car in a cab."

"I thought NYPD had a 'no high-speed chases' policy." Cliff frowned.

"We do." Don sighed. "Chief Sinclair was not happy."

"Danny and Lindsay were though." Jess remembered. "Something about the car being a cross between Mach 5's Speed Racer and the Batmobile. And, as I recall, you and Stella got to play James Bond at the mayor's benefactor."

Don grinned. "Yeah, that was pretty cool. You know, minus the fact that someone died."

"Yeah, that does tend to put a dampener on the event." Jess agreed.

"Do people at the precinct know that you two are together?" Ron asked.

"Well …" Jess exchanged a glance with her boyfriend. "The captain does. And has for a few months apparently. We haven't told anyone and we keep it out of the office. So, as far as I know, there's just the rumours that have been floating around. And they haven't changed since … well, since I started there."

"Remember Amber Stanton?" Don asked.

Jess laughed. "First case we worked on together." She caught sight of everyone's curious expressions. "Oh, we were on a stake-out, following this murder suspect. We were sitting in the car and she suddenly appeared, got in the back and started listing her itinerary so we didn't have a problem if we lost her."

"While making a few snide comments about how her venue of choice for lunch would be …" Don trailed off. "How did she word it?"

"A bit expensive on my boyfriend's salary." Jess supplied. "And then half way through Bloomingdale's, she doubled back to join us and asked if we were always that sickeningly obvious."

By this time, her brothers were all sniggering and even her father was grinning.

"What did you say?" Marie wanted to know.

"Nothing." Jess shrugged. "It was either that or I hit her."

A peal of laughter rang around the table and it was only broken by Jason, who swallowed his mouthful and asked, "Aunt Jess, what happened to the man who shot you?"

"Jason!" Ellie chided as everyone fell silent.

"It's a relevant question!" Jason protested.

Ellie gave her husband a look. "You taught him that, didn't you?"

Jamie shrugged. "Kid's got a point."

"He was killed resisting arrest." Don answered quietly.

"You sure?" Will asked. "Because I wouldn't mind shooting him again just to be certain."

"William!" Marie scolded. "The children!"

"I'm sure." Don said shortly. "I shot him."

"He was ambidextrous." Jess added. "Caught you by surprise, didn't it? It did me."

"What does ambidextrous mean?" Liam asked.

"It means you can use both hands the same." Jess explained, glancing at Ellie for some sort of guidance as to how much she could say; her sister-in-law just shrugged. "I shot him in the right shoulder and I thought that meant he could shoot as well anymore, but he switched his gun to his left hand and kept shooting."

Liam grimaced and looked at Don. "I'm glad you shot him."

Don managed a smile. "I know."

* * *

"He wasn't ambidextrous."

Jess glanced up as Don walked into the bedroom, tossing his shirt onto the chair. "I know."

"Why'd you say he was?" Don asked.

"Because you regret killing him." Jess answered, pulling the tie from her hair. "And because IA are going to poke their noses in sooner or later."

"You raised a valid point though." Don continued as though she hadn't spoken. "He can't have shot you after you shot him, which means you must have put two in his shoulder _after_ he shot you."

"I did." Jess confirmed.

Don gaped at her in disbelief. "Jess, that's a one in a million shot and you made it twice! You're giving up the chance to go down in history!"

"I came back from the dead." Jess shrugged. "Besides, if I had to choose, I'd take you every time. You know that. How do you think today went?"

"I think it went well." Don looked worried. "Why?"

Jess laughed. "No reason, sweetheart. They all loved you." She hesitated. "Am I the only one who's worried about tomorrow?"

"Sam's there." Don reminded him. "She adores you."

"It's not really your sister I'm worried about." Jess admitted. "You said your parents think we're just partners."

"They do." Don nodded. "But you come to me tomorrow and my mother will take me aside after dinner and start going on about how she's not getting any younger and that you're such a nice girl, at which point I will tell her that she's in luck, because I love you and I'm not planning on letting you go."

"And what if they don't like me?" Jess asked quietly.

Don chuckled. "Jess, I don't think that's possible. I mean, it's you."

"I'm serious, Don." Jess stated even quieter.

Don kissed her forehead. "That's their problem. They are just gonna have to accept that you are the woman I love and …" He cut himself off abruptly.

"Don, you can't tell your parents where to go." Jess chided lightly.

Don smirked weakly. "That wasn't what I was gonna say."

"Then what was?" Jess asked.

Don hesitated for a second. "They're gonna have to accept that you're the woman I love and their future daughter-in-law."

Jess's breath caught in her chest. Of course she had never assumed that their relationship would be anything other than long-term and she knew he loved her more than life, but she had never let herself think of the implications of that, aside from the odd moment early in the morning, when she woke up in his arms and lazily imagined waking like that every day for the rest of her life, or when she found herself coupling their names to see how it would sound. _Jessica Flack just sounds … right._

But she had never considered that he might have been thinking in the same direction.

Belatedly, Jess realised that she had been staring at him in astonishment for the last few minutes and a glimmer of rejection had appeared in his eyes, and she smiled. "Was that a proposal, Detective?"

"No." Don searched her eyes. "A warning."

Jess wrinkled her nose. "'Warning' sounds so ominous, Don."

"Alright, what would you call it?" Don asked, a flicker of hope replacing the rejection.

"A promise?" Jess suggested, holding her breath.

Don nodded, kissing her forehead again. "It's a promise. Just give us time to get over this and let me do the thing properly."

"I wouldn't have it any other way." Jess nestled in to his side. "You're gonna have to do a lot of work if you wanna surprise me though."

"I'll think of something." Don smiled, pulling the covers over them. "You want your present now?"

"Don, we agreed on no presents!" Jess protested. "I didn't …"

"Jess, we went through this yesterday, remember?" Don cut her off. "Having you here is better than anything else." He rolled over, pulled open the drawer and extracted a wrapped box. "Merry Christmas."

Jess sighed resignedly and tore the paper off, opening the box to find … a photo frame containing a list.

"This morning," Don kissed her neck, "wasn't the first time I've seen you look like that. It's just the first time I've called you on it."

Jess was still confused and ran her eye over it, certain phrases leaping out at her. _The way you play with your hair when you're trying not to lose it … The way you remember everything about every child every Saturday … The way you smile at me every morning … _"I'm confused."

Don chuckled. "It's a list, Jess."

"I can see that." Jess rolled her eyes. "A list of what?"

"All the reasons I love you." Don answered. "Well, actually, I'd need a much longer list to put all of them, but I think these are the main ones." He brushed a lock of hair from her face. "I never want you to doubt how much I feel about you. But I can see it in your eyes sometimes. Like this morning."

Jess traced a finger over the frame. "I think this might be the most amazing thing any man has ever done for me."

"You're worth it." Don murmured into her hair. "I love you, Jess."

Jess carefully placed the frame on the nightstand and brushed the paper off the sheets, before pulling him into a deep kiss, his arm snaking around her waist to pull her closer. She shifted slightly, wanting to be closer to him, but the movement sent a stab of pain through her and she broke away.

"Did I hurt you?" Don asked immediately.

Jess smiled, the pain receding as quickly as it had come. "No. I did." She sighed, out of frustration more than anything else. "I just … I need you."

Don kissed her forehead, smiling at her blunt honesty. "I know, sweetheart. Believe me, I know. But it's best we wait for the doctor to give you the go-ahead."

"That could be months." Jess sighed again. "And don't tell me it's not getting to you as well. You spent two hours in the shower this morning."

"Well, it's not my fault you look so damn sexy when you first wake up." Don smirked. "Jess, it's okay. We can wait. And when you do get the go-ahead, I'll take the day off and we can spend it in bed. Sound good?"

Jess grinned, feeling her body respond subconsciously to his words. "Sounds very good. I love you so much."

"I love you too." Don murmured, tracing small circles on the skin just above her pyjama pants, as her hand rested on the tattoo on his chest, tracing over the words, already memorised in her head.

_Forever my Angell._

**

* * *

AN: Originally, this was going to be a two-shot, but there'll probably be another chapter now. As you may have noticed, I've changed the name of this series to 'Kindred Spirits', because it was confusing me, with it being called the same as my C2. There is a chronology on my profile – a list of the fics in order, for those of you who aren't sure what that means (I had to look it up myself) – if you're getting confused as well.**

**My apologies, also, to everyone who voted for **_**Grounds for Deception**_** as a story; it's not one of my favourite episodes – aside from that one conversation between Don and Stella about Jess. I can't help but notice that TPTB like doing that to us: penultimate S5 episode of CSI: NY, Don says that he 'cares about her – a lot'; next episode, she's killed. Penultimate S2 episode of NCIS, Tony tells Kate that her staying reminds him of the end of Alien ("I will never leave you"); next episode, she's shot in the head. Seems to be a pattern here.**

**Anyway, I digress. **_**Grounds for Deception**_** is in the works, but I'm a little distracted. On which note, I would be eternally grateful if a) you reviewed this story and b) you took a look at my NCIS stories and reviewed them. I have written a Tiva fic if you really can't stomach Tate.**


	3. Chapter 3

**Disclaimer: I do not own CSI: NY.  
****Series: 'Kindred Spirits'.  
****Spoilers: None.**

* * *

Chapter Three

"Are you sure I look okay?" Jess asked for the hundredth time.

Don rolled his eyes. "Jess, you look stunning. Just like you always do." He lifted her hand to his lips and kissed it softly. "Relax, sweetheart. My family don't bite."

"I know." Jess gave him a small smile. "I'm just really nervous."

"Now you know how I felt yesterday." Don grinned, opening the door.

Even before the doors were closed and locked behind them, the front door to the house opened and Samantha came rushing out. "Thank God you're here; they're driving me crazy!"

Don held his arms out and caught his sister as she flew into them. "Hey."

"Hey." Sam kissed his cheek and pulled away. "How you feeling, Jess?"

"Eh, it acts up sometimes, but I'm alright." Jess hugged her. "Why are they driving you crazy?"

Sam sighed. "Well, Dad doesn't really want me here and …"

"Samantha, stop it." Don ruffled her hair, causing her to duck away from his hand. "Dad _does_ want you here; you're being melodramatic. And you're scaring my girlfriend."

Now it was Jess's turn to roll her eyes. "She's not scaring me, Don."

"Give her time." Don grinned, taking her arm. "Come on." He led both girls up the path and pushed the door open.

"Donny's home!" Sam called with a grin. "And he brought a girl with him for once!"

A dark-haired woman appeared in one of the doorways. "So he has."

"Hey, Mom." Don released Jess's arm to embrace her. "Merry Christmas."

"Merry Christmas to you too." She released him and eyed him speculatively. "You've been eating properly for once."

"You've got Jess to thank for that one." Don wrapped an arm around her shoulders. "Jess, this is my mother, Katherine. Mom, this is Jessica Angell." He lowered his voice. "Her corned beef is almost as good as yours."

Jess flushed slightly. "Don, I'm sure that's not true."

"I said 'almost'." Don reminded her with a grin.

Jess shook her head with a grin, shaking Katherine's hand. "It's nice to meet you finally."

"Likewise." Katherine returned. "Jessica is Donny's _partner_, Samantha."

"Oh, right." Sam hid her smirk beautifully. "Of course."

"He's finally brought the partner?" A male voice asked.

The man who appeared in his wife's wake was the spitting image of Don, except twenty years on. _Or should that be the other way round_. He held his hand out, looking faintly surprised. "Donald Flack."

"Jessica Angell." Jess shook his hand. "You were expecting 'Detective Angell' to be a man, weren't you?"

"Never heard that Cliff had a girl." Donald admitted. "Four boys I thought."

"Four older brothers." Sam shuddered. "And I thought I had it bad."

"I guess that means Don tells me more than you." Katherine teased her husband.

"You knew her dad?" Don asked, as his mother began ushering them into the living room.

"Only by reputation." Donald corrected. "Good cop."

"Must run in the family." Don grinned at her. "Like father, like daughter."

Jess laughed. It had been a while since that movement had caused any real problems, but every now and then the wound acted up a little, as if reminding her that it was still there. The pain was slight and passed quickly, but it lasted long enough for Sam – since Don was talking to his mother – to notice.

"Sit down." She instructed. "I still don't think you should be out of hospital."

"I'm fine." Jess insisted, but complied anyway as Don turned to face her, trailing off mid-sentence. "I'm fine." She repeated, seeing the concern in his eyes.

"What happened?" Katherine asked curiously.

"God, Mom, don't you read the papers?" Sam joked. "You're in the presence of a miracle."

Jess rolled her eyes. "For the last time, Sam, I didn't come back from the dead if I didn't die to begin with."

"Jess was shot last month." Don explained for his parents' benefit. "We … We thought she'd been killed."

"Someone unplugged the monitors after the doctors gave up." Jess added, a calming hand on her abdomen. "So no one noticed my heart restarted."

"Until a month later when they went to start the autopsy." Sam finished. "I'm surprised you didn't hear."

"We never read the papers, dear, you know that." Katherine reminded her.

But Jess knew that wasn't what Samantha was talking about and dug through her bag, pulling out the pain-killers the doctor had given her. "Don, could you …?"

"Glass of water, coming up." Don grinned, disappearing from the room.

"Not from the papers." Sam shook her head. "Donny was a mess. I thought …" She trailed off with a shudder. "Well, it doesn't matter what I thought."

"Lindsay thought it too, if that's any consolation." Jess told her, as Don reappeared, handing her a glass, apparently missing the concern on his mother's face. "Thanks."

"And the doctors already released you?" Donald asked.

Jess nodded. "I'm staying with Don, so they agreed that I'd be fine. As long as I don't push myself."

"And that's not likely to happen." Sam shared a conspirational smile.

"Between these two and the CSIs, I'm surprised they let me dress myself." Jess rolled her eyes good-naturedly.

"You were shot three times, Jess; I think we have the right to be a little protective." Don pointed out quietly.

"Four times." Jess reminded him. "First one got my shoulder."

"Oh yeah." Sam commented. "I'd almost forgotten about that one."

"Me too." Jess admitted sheepishly.

"Oh, speaking of shoulders," Katherine turned to Don, "do you remember Selina Marcus?"

Don frowned. "No."

"She was on the cheerleading squad when you were at high school."

Don thought for a second. "No, I still don't remember her."

"She dislocated her shoulder falling off a pyramid and you took her to the hospital."

Don's expression cleared. "Oh yeah. What about her?"

"She's back in town." Katherine told him.

"Okay." Don nodded. "And?"

Jess stifled a snigger. She had had enough conversations like this with her own mother to know where this was going; Don was completely oblivious. "Pretty girl, was she?"

"She was alright." Don glanced at her, took in the smirk on her face and turned back to his mother. "Oh no. Tell me you didn't give her my number!"

"Of course not!" Katherine rolled her eyes. "I told her I'd give you hers. She's a lawyer."

"What a coincidence." Don muttered under his breath. "I hate lawyers." He cleared his throat. "Well, she'll be waiting a long time, Mom, because I have a girlfriend."

"Oh?" Katherine asked, and it was obvious she had no faith in her son's choice in women. Of course, having met Devon and her predecessors, Jess couldn't blame her. "Is this one serious?"

"Very." Don stated firmly. "In fact, she's gonna be your daughter-in-law one day, so you'd best be nice to her."

"You asked her?" Sam asked in surprise.

"Not yet." Don glanced at Jess and smiled. "Well, not officially, anyway. So she's just gonna have to wait until I can do that properly."

"Well, you'll have to bring her here for us to meet." Donald told him.

Don took a deep breath. "I did. Today." He took Jess's hand and squeezed it gently. "We've been together for about eleven months."

There was a stunned silence for a few minutes, then Katherine stood up. "I'd better check on dinner." She put a hand on Jess's shoulder. "Come with me?"

Jess saw her eyes flicker towards her husband and knew that – like her own father – it was Donald who would have a problem with his son dating a co-worker, realising that Katherine didn't need any help; she just wanted Jess to miss any argument that might erupt.

"Sure."

As soon as they reached the kitchen, Katherine broke into a smile. "Thank God."

Jess blinked. "Excuse me?"

Katherine gestured to the kitchen table and it was then Jess noticed that all the food was already prepared. She took a seat and her companion sat down opposite her, still grinning wildly. "I don't know if you've noticed, Jessica, but my son has always had a … questionable taste in women. He used to call me and tell me about whatever girl was on the go and then, in the same breath, he'd talk about you and I used to wonder when exactly he'd realise what was in front of him."

Jess blushed lightly. "Well, as far as Don's concerned, I can do no wrong, so you're dealing with a biased view."

"Oh, no." Katherine shook her head. "That's exactly my point. You're the only woman he talked about that he _didn't_ complain about at some point; it was so obvious how infatuated he was that I was starting to think I'd have to knock some sense into him. Now." She reached across the table and took Jess's hand. "Tell me about this non-official proposal."

In the living room, they were having a slightly less calm discussion.

"It's a bad idea!"

Don didn't back down. "Dad, you know I've listened to you time and time again, but this is the one time I'm not going to. Jess means everything to me; I can't function without her. Believe me, I've tried."

"Dad." Sam carefully moved between them, forcing her father to focus on her instead. "This isn't me we're talking about. Donny doesn't make rash decisions; you know that."

"It's not dating your partner I'm worried about." Donald scowled. "You know what you're like with women."

Don sighed. "Alright, I'll bite. What am I like with women?"

"Well, according to Lindsay, you go through them faster than Danny goes through cannolis." Jess answered from the kitchen doorway. "Why?"

Don pulled her into his arms. "I'm in this for the long-shot, Jess." He whispered.

"I know." Jess kissed his cheek.

"I wouldn't worry, Dad." Sam grinned. "Donny's whipped."

"Am not!" Don protested.

"Yeah, you are." Jess laughed. "How else did I get you to help Danny the other day?"

"How did you get him to help Danny the other day?" Sam asked.

Jess grinned at her. "I told him I'd do it if he didn't."

Sam laughed. "Like I said, he's whipped."

Donald laughed along with his daughter. "Alright then. Now, Jessica, Don's been pretty tight lipped about that drug raid a few years ago; is he being modest or was it really not that big a deal?"

Jess raised an eyebrow at her boyfriend. "Oh, he's definitely being modest. The raid was at about six am and …"

* * *

"Told you they'd love you." Don smirked as they drove home.

Jess rolled her eyes. "Yes, I know; you're a genius and I bow down to your superior intellect."

"As you should." Don squeezed her hand.

Jess shook her head with a grin, turning to gaze out the window, realising something as she did. "Er, Don, you missed the turning."

"I know." Don told her calmly. "There's one more person you have to meet first."

"It's pretty late, Don." Jess reminded him.

"Tired?" Don checked.

"No." Jess assured him. "You've got to go into work tomorrow though."

"I'll be fine." Don pulled over. "Here we are." He got out of the car and opened the door for her, helping her out.

"Don, where …?" Jess trailed off, seeing the wrought-iron gates of a cemetery and she knew why they were there.

Silently, Don wrapped an arm around her waist and led her through the gates and down the path, between the rows of headstones, some crumbling with age and time.

They didn't talk as they reached their destination; a simple stone bearing the words _Michael 'Mike' Flack, 1981 – 1998._

Releasing her, Don knelt in front of it. "Hey, Mikey. This is Jess."

Blinking back tears, Jess joined him, ignoring the quiet protest from her wound. "Hi."

"He would've loved you." Don whispered, his voice suspiciously shaky.

"What happened?" Jess asked quietly, never having asked for details.

"He …" Don swallowed hard. "He fell in with a bad crowd; one of his boys 'borrowed' his mom's SUV. He walked away from it; Mikey didn't."

Jess cursed under her breath. "Oh God … he got something, right?"

"He was seventeen, his parents refused to report the car stolen and it was an accident." Don listed dully. "Didn't even go down for vehicular manslaughter."

Jess shook her head in disgust. "I'm sorry, Don. It's not right."

"No." Don held her close, taking a deep breath. "I was angry to start with, but then … Mikey used to say to me that when life threw shit at you, you should smile and say thanks, just to piss life off."

Jess sniggered. "That's a … refreshing view of things."

Don nodded. "Yeah. I figured that I could spend the rest of my life angry about that, or I could get on with it and make him proud."

"You have." Jess whispered. "You know you have."

Don didn't respond, kissing her forehead. A tear trickled down her cheek, but she knew it wasn't hers, and she shifted to hold him tightly as he cried for the brother who never got a chance to learn from his mistakes.

His tough stance against the concept of manslaughter suddenly made sense and she swore never to question him again the next time interrogation left a young murder suspect in tears because a split-second mistake had resulted in the loss of a life. When it came to death, the word 'accident' held little meaning to the victims.

Jess didn't know how long the two stayed there, wrapped in a comforting embrace, under the watchful gaze of the numerous angel statuettes surrounding them. Out of the corner of her eye, she saw a man watching them with a smile on his face.

She dismissed him as a groundskeeper or a caretaker or maybe even another mourner, but later – in the dead of night while Don slept soundly beside her and right in the back of her mind – she would remember his lips forming the words 'thank you' before he disappeared into the darkness and she would realise that maybe, just maybe, if she'd looked a bit closer, she might have noticed that his eyes were a very familiar shade of blue.

**

* * *

AN: Who was it? Was it Don's father, come to tell his other son about his brother's girlfriend? Or was it Don's brother, watching them from beyond the grave? Well, that's up to you; it's pretty dark out there after all. But whatever you decide, please review and I might have an official proposal up soon …**


End file.
